The Jays have a chance to have a real impact on the AL East playoff chase, with six home games against the Red Sox and Yankees. First up: the champs.
* General: It's been ten years since the Red Sox were in first place on September 12 ... Boston keeps on rakin', with a league-best 37 bat-around innings ... Wade Miller has struggled with his command during his rehab stint for AA Portland (in their playoff series), but nevertheless hopes to get recalled for the postseason ... Mark Bellhorn was mobbed by his ex-mates when the Red Sox visited Yankee Stadium this weekend. Bellhorn on the Yankee clubhouse compared to the "Idiots" in Boston: "It's definitely quieter" ... Johnny Damon is the key free agent re-signing task for the Bosox, although Millar, Mueller and Timlin are also in their contract years. There may not be any free agents available capable of replacing Damon ... The Bosox signed Cuban first baseman Michel Abreu this weekend. The 26-year-old is reputed to have tremendous power ... The head of international scouting for the Bosox is Craig Shipley -- remember him? ... With Craig Hansen and September callup Manny Delcarmen on hand, the Bosox are unlikely to enter the B.J. Ryan/Billy Wagner sweepstakes ... Hansen has been bothered by a "dead arm," and had been shut down since mid-August before returning to Portland this weekend ...
* Bronson Arroyo: Has been frustrated by his ability to get good bite to his cutter of late. He's been relying on fastballs and changeups ... Was admonished earlier in the year by management for devoting an inordinate amount of time to his musical endeavours as a guitarist ... His fastball isn't overpowering, and he has to locate it on the corners -- or perhaps further off the plate ... Still uses that distinctive, sweeping leg kick ... Extremely hard to run on with his slide step, but he seems to have less "stuff" from the stretch ...
* David Ortiz: Battling a tight back, Papi may not be able to play tonight ... Donated $50,000 to Hurricane Katrina relief, citing how important American aid was to hurricane relief in the Dominican Republic over the years. He challenged other Dominican-born ballplayers to match his donation -- and Vladimir Guerrero did so ... Poised to join Carl Yastrzemski as the only two Red Sox players to go deep 40 times in back-to-back seasons -- a stunning statistic, given the dimensions of cozy Fenway ... Absolutely outstanding on pitches from the centre of the plate in ...
* Matt Clement: Smooth, good-looking delivery -- but he leaves himself in very poor fielding position ... Touches the high 80s with his two-seam fastball ... His slider moves laterally, but doesn't really break ... If he leaves his slider out over the plate at all, it's awfully hittable for a lefthanded hitter like Koskie. He needs to keep it right in on lefties' fists ...
* David Wells: In the Unsurprising-Yet-Still-Annoying Department, Wells whined to the press after being yanked while trailing 5-3 in the sixth inning of Friday's loss to New York. Wells: "I don't like coming out in the sixth inning...I feel like I'm back in the NL" ... In the He's-Got-It-Or-He-Don't Department, watch the outside corner. He'll set up shop there with both his heater and his offspeed stuff if he's on his game ... In the Passive-Voice Department, curveballs thrown by Wells seldom top 75 mph, and really have to be waited on ... In the There-Is-No-Justice Department, Boomer is getting nearly eight runs of support per game ... In the OK-Maybe-There-Is-Some-Justice Department, Wells is 0-1, 6.98 against the Jays this year, including a suspension-triggering ejection ...
* Johnny Damon: Received a cortisone injection on Saturday to help deal with the pain of his sore left shoulder ... Hates DH'ing, but may have to do so today. If so, expect Ortiz to play first with Gabe Kapler taking over in centre ... Was really battling ground balls into centre -- of all things -- before he got his injection ... When healthy, gets away with playing a deep centre because of his good speed when charging the ball ... Enthusiastically discussed the possibility of being an Angel next year with the Southern California media -- but expect further flirting with potential suitors ...
* Edgar Renteria: Using the whole field at the plate, with solid results ... Can be frozen on the inside corner ... Good offspeed hitter, especially against lefties ... Continues to battle shaky hands defensively. With 24 E's, he trails only Russ Adams for the major-league "lead" ...
* Trot Nixon: Easily the dirtiest cap in the big leagues ... Actually lobbied Terry Francona to be moved down in the order of late, as he's struggled since coming off the disabled list in August ... Still dangerous on breaking stuff from righthanded pitching ... Employs a variety of timing devices, including a Ray Durham-like bat waggle, in the batter's box ...
* Kevin Millar: The ordinarily patient Millar has yet to walk in September. No matter, though, since he's notched a .321/.321/.679 line ... Seems to be staying back better on pitches lately, and is pleased -- but, he says, not surprised -- to be back on track offensively ... Hitting fastballs, in particular, much more effectively of late ... Very slow on the basepaths ...
* Manny Ramirez: Has slumped of late, going just .200/.263/.314 in September ... Terry Francona attributes his recent slump to "los[ing] his base," meaning that his footwork in the batter's box was adversely affecting Manny's balance ... That said, he did snap a homerless streak with a longball on Saturday ... Strong but erratic throwing arm ...
* Jason Varitek: Not only a fine plate-blocker with the tools of ignorance, Varitek is also a very physical baserunner skilled at breaking up double plays and dislodging balls on tag plays ... That said, Jorge Posada hung on after being steamrolled by 'Tek on Friday night. No hard feelings on Posada's part, but he did scratch his head at yet another questionable green light from third base coach Dale Sveum ... Very hard to get him to chase up in the zone. It's better to keep it down against him ... Smart hitter who always seems to take a good, "locked in" rip with his head down on the ball ...
* Tony Graffanino: Battling a nagging groin injury ... Confessed to praying for his old mates on the Royals to end their losing streak once it went into the teens ... Prefers the ball down ... Will take a walk ...
* Mike Myers: Talk about a LOOGY. Righthanded batters are posting an absurd .400/.523/.627 line off him. But the submarining southpaw holds lefties to a puny .171/.207/.232 mark ...
* Gabe Kapler: Apologized to the Yankees for swiping second on defensive indifference on Saturday with a seven-run lead in the ninth: "I'm not showing anyone up...It was a poor error in judgment" ...
* Adam Stern: The 25-year-old is the pride of London, ON ... Battling a thumb injury and a sore labrum in his throwing shoulder, he'll only be able to pinch-run for the foreseeable future ...
A relatively brief Scout this week, as it's being created while visiting family for a wedding (not mine). As is usually the case with Boston coming to town this season, Toronto faces three up-and-down starters, an inconsistent bullpen, an occasionally erratic defence...and an absolutely dominant lineup. Can the Jays keep up their strong play against the Bosox, with less on the line (at least from the Jays' perspective)?
This week's Scout features some offseason planning, some nagging aches and pains and some more of the same from the one and only Boomer.
On to the Advance Scout!* General: It's been ten years since the Red Sox were in first place on September 12 ... Boston keeps on rakin', with a league-best 37 bat-around innings ... Wade Miller has struggled with his command during his rehab stint for AA Portland (in their playoff series), but nevertheless hopes to get recalled for the postseason ... Mark Bellhorn was mobbed by his ex-mates when the Red Sox visited Yankee Stadium this weekend. Bellhorn on the Yankee clubhouse compared to the "Idiots" in Boston: "It's definitely quieter" ... Johnny Damon is the key free agent re-signing task for the Bosox, although Millar, Mueller and Timlin are also in their contract years. There may not be any free agents available capable of replacing Damon ... The Bosox signed Cuban first baseman Michel Abreu this weekend. The 26-year-old is reputed to have tremendous power ... The head of international scouting for the Bosox is Craig Shipley -- remember him? ... With Craig Hansen and September callup Manny Delcarmen on hand, the Bosox are unlikely to enter the B.J. Ryan/Billy Wagner sweepstakes ... Hansen has been bothered by a "dead arm," and had been shut down since mid-August before returning to Portland this weekend ...
* Bronson Arroyo: Has been frustrated by his ability to get good bite to his cutter of late. He's been relying on fastballs and changeups ... Was admonished earlier in the year by management for devoting an inordinate amount of time to his musical endeavours as a guitarist ... His fastball isn't overpowering, and he has to locate it on the corners -- or perhaps further off the plate ... Still uses that distinctive, sweeping leg kick ... Extremely hard to run on with his slide step, but he seems to have less "stuff" from the stretch ...
* David Ortiz: Battling a tight back, Papi may not be able to play tonight ... Donated $50,000 to Hurricane Katrina relief, citing how important American aid was to hurricane relief in the Dominican Republic over the years. He challenged other Dominican-born ballplayers to match his donation -- and Vladimir Guerrero did so ... Poised to join Carl Yastrzemski as the only two Red Sox players to go deep 40 times in back-to-back seasons -- a stunning statistic, given the dimensions of cozy Fenway ... Absolutely outstanding on pitches from the centre of the plate in ...
* Matt Clement: Smooth, good-looking delivery -- but he leaves himself in very poor fielding position ... Touches the high 80s with his two-seam fastball ... His slider moves laterally, but doesn't really break ... If he leaves his slider out over the plate at all, it's awfully hittable for a lefthanded hitter like Koskie. He needs to keep it right in on lefties' fists ...
* David Wells: In the Unsurprising-Yet-Still-Annoying Department, Wells whined to the press after being yanked while trailing 5-3 in the sixth inning of Friday's loss to New York. Wells: "I don't like coming out in the sixth inning...I feel like I'm back in the NL" ... In the He's-Got-It-Or-He-Don't Department, watch the outside corner. He'll set up shop there with both his heater and his offspeed stuff if he's on his game ... In the Passive-Voice Department, curveballs thrown by Wells seldom top 75 mph, and really have to be waited on ... In the There-Is-No-Justice Department, Boomer is getting nearly eight runs of support per game ... In the OK-Maybe-There-Is-Some-Justice Department, Wells is 0-1, 6.98 against the Jays this year, including a suspension-triggering ejection ...
* Johnny Damon: Received a cortisone injection on Saturday to help deal with the pain of his sore left shoulder ... Hates DH'ing, but may have to do so today. If so, expect Ortiz to play first with Gabe Kapler taking over in centre ... Was really battling ground balls into centre -- of all things -- before he got his injection ... When healthy, gets away with playing a deep centre because of his good speed when charging the ball ... Enthusiastically discussed the possibility of being an Angel next year with the Southern California media -- but expect further flirting with potential suitors ...
* Edgar Renteria: Using the whole field at the plate, with solid results ... Can be frozen on the inside corner ... Good offspeed hitter, especially against lefties ... Continues to battle shaky hands defensively. With 24 E's, he trails only Russ Adams for the major-league "lead" ...
* Trot Nixon: Easily the dirtiest cap in the big leagues ... Actually lobbied Terry Francona to be moved down in the order of late, as he's struggled since coming off the disabled list in August ... Still dangerous on breaking stuff from righthanded pitching ... Employs a variety of timing devices, including a Ray Durham-like bat waggle, in the batter's box ...
* Kevin Millar: The ordinarily patient Millar has yet to walk in September. No matter, though, since he's notched a .321/.321/.679 line ... Seems to be staying back better on pitches lately, and is pleased -- but, he says, not surprised -- to be back on track offensively ... Hitting fastballs, in particular, much more effectively of late ... Very slow on the basepaths ...
* Manny Ramirez: Has slumped of late, going just .200/.263/.314 in September ... Terry Francona attributes his recent slump to "los[ing] his base," meaning that his footwork in the batter's box was adversely affecting Manny's balance ... That said, he did snap a homerless streak with a longball on Saturday ... Strong but erratic throwing arm ...
* Jason Varitek: Not only a fine plate-blocker with the tools of ignorance, Varitek is also a very physical baserunner skilled at breaking up double plays and dislodging balls on tag plays ... That said, Jorge Posada hung on after being steamrolled by 'Tek on Friday night. No hard feelings on Posada's part, but he did scratch his head at yet another questionable green light from third base coach Dale Sveum ... Very hard to get him to chase up in the zone. It's better to keep it down against him ... Smart hitter who always seems to take a good, "locked in" rip with his head down on the ball ...
* Tony Graffanino: Battling a nagging groin injury ... Confessed to praying for his old mates on the Royals to end their losing streak once it went into the teens ... Prefers the ball down ... Will take a walk ...
* Mike Myers: Talk about a LOOGY. Righthanded batters are posting an absurd .400/.523/.627 line off him. But the submarining southpaw holds lefties to a puny .171/.207/.232 mark ...
* Gabe Kapler: Apologized to the Yankees for swiping second on defensive indifference on Saturday with a seven-run lead in the ninth: "I'm not showing anyone up...It was a poor error in judgment" ...
* Adam Stern: The 25-year-old is the pride of London, ON ... Battling a thumb injury and a sore labrum in his throwing shoulder, he'll only be able to pinch-run for the foreseeable future ...
